Year-End Review

“Bonjour.”

Looking back, 2014 was a surprisingly good year for me. It was a year of transition, a year of change, a year of building a foundation for the future. As a result of that year, I now have stable employment, a roommate, a bachelor’s degree, the complete first draft of a novel, and a fiancé. So as far as years go, I think it was probably the best one thus far.

On the other hand, it was also a year of bad hockey teams and surprisingly sub-par films. But amidst all the movies whose plots slipped out of my mind the minute I left the theatre, or even the movies that were “just fine” (I’m looking at you, Maze Runner and Divergent), there were the odd few that stood out, a handful of needles glittering deep within the haystack. Some I expected to be incredible, while others were a surprise to me, as you’ll soon see.

Keep in mind as we begin, I still haven’t seen The History of Everything, The Imitation Game, Into the Woods, or Big Hero 6, so however good they might be, I won’t be including those in my top picks. (Give me a break; it’s been a crazy year.)

Year-End Review

“Hey.”

As I look back on the year that’s passed, I remember 2014 as the year that got away. Maybe a year that never truly arrived. A year typified if not consumed by betrayal and treason and murder in the nights and days of our discontent(s). A year of modest beginnings, false starts, and the hollow hopes of misinformed adventure. A year of paralysis and failure in direct spite of foolish hopes and inexplicable dreams. A year best left forgotten.

But then… that’s usually how I remember every year.

From a cultural perspective — by which I mean movies, not like, art or symphonies or anything like that — 2014 marked several turning points, including possibly the two best Marvel Studios movies of all time, hopefully the final Peter-Jackson-helmed piece of Tolkien lore, the first time America got Godzilla anywhere near right, and the triumphant return of the X-Men to theatres, in between bouts of profundity (Interstellar), pain (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), achievement (Boyhood) and intense malaise (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a good period drama. Pride & Prejudice, The Piano, The Room with a View, I love them all. And while a movie lasts only about two hours, Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey is the period drama fix that blessedly stretches from week to week. I desperately wish for more than eight episodes in a season, but it does keep viewers like me hungry for more.

Fans will be able to get their fix when season five of the British drama premieres tomorrow night on PBS. The full season has already aired overseas.